Wifi Extender Help/Advice

[skfullgun]

I have Windstream DSL, a router, Roku tv, and a wifi extender on my back porch. I have a barndominium about 50 yards behind the house, and on a good day the Roku TV will work in the barndominium just fine. Sometimes, it won't work at all.
I'd like to get an outdoor wifi extender that will work for the barndo and an RV trailer I keep for company (also 50 yds from the house).
I basically want something that I can plug into an outlet that will extend the range of the Wi-Fi for these purposes.
Is this doable? Suggestions?
Thanks in advance. This is my go-to place for questions of all types!

 

[Axxe55]

Subbed for information.

 

[rotor]

WiFi extenders are terrible. Mesh is what you need. I have a TP Link m4 but I don't know if three units like I have will do the range you need. I will tell you that it is inexpensive, blazing fast, easy to set up saves me money as I was able to return a Spectrum WiFi router and 3 TV boxes. I have a large spread out house and get roku and wifi everywhere and it NEVER goes down. Bought mine at Sams, if you don't like it it's an easy return. Bought one for my daughters house too.

 

[baboon]

My lucky ass is the landlord to a WiFi tower. I get free Wifi for the next 5 years. When the tower owner came to get me set up he added another router because the desktop computer was not receiving signal. When that didn't work he replaced the old router as well. That fixed the desktop.

The previous owner put a booster on the set up to. Even with the tower outside the guest bedroom my phone seldom has more the 2 bars. I recently got a Roku firestick & it seems to work fine. It too is on an extender. I read that having a TV in something like an entertainment center can really block the WiFi signal.

The routers are not 10 feet away, but there are 2 walls between them. The booster is in the narrow "Butlers Pantry" between both routers.

The name on the routers I have are TP Link. The phone is on the charger right now if you need more info on them I'll shoot you some pics & of the booster.

 

[no2gates]

Another possibility is to use a Ethernet over Powerline adapter. I have a couple I use and they work great.

 

[Polkwright]

If the Barndo is metal, that might be part of the issue. Have you tried just an external antenna?

 

[Bozz10mm]

I can't vouch for it, but this system seems to provide the longest range. At least that's what they claim, up to 10k square feet. I've tried one of those other types (the little box with two antenna arms that you plug in to a wall outlet) and didn't see much improvement from the house to my shed 25 yards from the router.

Amazon product ASIN B0842T3PNP

 

[striker55]

WiFi extenders are terrible. Mesh is what you need. I have a TP Link m4 but I don't know if three units like I have will do the range you need. I will tell you that it is inexpensive, blazing fast, easy to set up saves me money as I was able to return a Spectrum WiFi router and 3 TV boxes. I have a large spread out house and get roku and wifi everywhere and it NEVER goes down. Bought mine at Sams, if you don't like it it's an easy return. Bought one for my daughters house too.

I have a Netgear mesh system, extends my signal. WiFi extenders cut the speed in half.

 

[cajunautoxer]

I use a Linksys mesh system. I get 650mbs anywhere on my acre lot

 

[dsgrey]

I have an Orbi mesh system but really don't like it just has one ID for 2.4 and 5ghz. I have a cheap camera thus it only runs 2.4 in my downstairs garage with many walls between. I have a Neatgear extender plugged into a wall outlet that extends both frequencies on separate channels and since the cheap camera only runs 2.4, it works great. I'm sure the speed is much slower but it's just a security camera. But a mesh system should solve your issue though they aren't inexpensive.

 

[Kar98]

When I still had the “problem” of living in a large house, I had a Linksys WiFi router plugged into the modem, and matching Linksys access points here and there, providing plenty coverage on the half acre lot and 6,500 feet of floor space downstairs and upstairs.

 

[Brains]

50 yards is a good distance. I wouldn't try solving it with typical residential wireless solutions, honestly. Reason being, they are configured to operate within a specific envelope that is more typical for the size of a home. Without getting into the technical details, a lot of it boils down to the expected amount of time it takes for data to fly between your devices. Even when covering a 11k ft. home (not mine), I don't install residential wifi systems because they tend to be unreliable.

If you have the option, I'd run a CAT5 cable between your buildings. If you don't, I'd run a dedicated wireless backhaul. Then, light up separate WiFi access points in each building.

I've personally installed Ubiquiti UniFi Nanostations to connect three 4k cameras that run 24/7, about 60 yards away, and they work absolutely perfectly rain or shine. In this instance, I had power but I didn't have a separate duct to be able to run networking out to the security gate. So a wireless bridge made sense.

Nanostation AC

 

[SGT Dave]

Agreed that wifi extenders are problematic at best. They drop out constantly, you will be logging back in every half hour.

 

[cajunautoxer]

So how my mesh system works it is comes on one main module and 2 satellite ones. The main module iirc has farther range. So I put that one in the back of the main house near a window. I have an apartment above my garage so I put a module there. OP I would say you would put a module in your barminium and closest place in your house and you should be gtg.

 

[skfullgun]

Thank you for all the responses. As usual, TGT came through!

 

[Texasjack]

As others said, MESH is the way to go. I bought an Orbi system and it was easy to install and it works great. They're not terribly expensive and I have nice, consistent wifi throughout the house and garage.

 

[DubiousDan]

I can't vouch for it, but this system seems to provide the longest range. At least that's what they claim, up to 10k square feet. I've tried one of those other types (the little box with two antenna arms that you plug in to a wall outlet) and didn't see much improvement from the house to my shed 25 yards from the router.

Amazon product ASIN B0842T3PNP

That looks interesting. I'll give it a try.

 

[DubiousDan]

I can't vouch for it, but this system seems to provide the longest range. At least that's what they claim, up to 10k square feet. I've tried one of those other types (the little box with two antenna arms that you plug in to a wall outlet) and didn't see much improvement from the house to my shed 25 yards from the router.

Amazon product ASIN B0842T3PNP

I ordered it from Amazon and they had a $20 off coupon so i got them for $99. Supposed to be here tomorrow.

 

[Army 1911]

Question? Do these mesh things work with remote TVs on the ATT system? And is it easy enough for a caveman to set up?

 

[DubiousDan]

Question? Do these mesh things work with remote TVs on the ATT system? And is it easy enough for a caveman to set up?

i downloaded the user manual and the setup looks pretty simple. You use an app on your phone to do the setup and anything that uses WiFi should work with them. I ordered a set of three and that may be too much for my house. It's not that big and I don't need it to reach into my yard.